From experiment to engine: How autonomous networks become core business infrastructure

Autonomous networks are no longer innovation experiments — for leading operators, they are becoming part of the core operational engine of the business. This session focuses on how CSPs and their technology partners have transformed isolated use cases into repeatable, scalable capabilities that underpin everyday service delivery. Examine how autonomy is embedded into production environments, how platforms mature over time, and how early wins are converted into long-term operational advantage.

Moderator: Mei Lee Quah, Senior Director, Frost & Sullivan 

15:45 – 16:00 
Closing the loop: Embedding intelligence into live network operations 

• How real-time decisioning is integrated into day-to-day operational workflows 
• The role of AI in co-ordinating actions across assurance, orchestration and optimization 
• What changes when systems begin to act without continuous human direction 
• How operators maintain control, trust and accountability in autonomous environments 

Rob Bennett, Senior Vice President, Software Engineering, Boost Mobile 
Justin Reilly, CEO, Wavelo 

16:00 – 16:15 
From pilot to platform: Turning autonomous use cases into enterprise capability 

• How early automation projects were selected and prioritized 
• What had to change to make autonomy production-ready 
• Building shared platforms instead of disconnected solutions 
• Key milestones on the journey from experimentation to scale 
• Business impact achieved once autonomy became “business as usual” 

16:15 – 16:30
From boardroom to code: making the autonomous networks strategy real 

• Building outcome-driven autonomous network processes using AWS services to support every step, through descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive phases, ensuring ROI-positive investments that meet business goals 
• Scaling automation consistently by reusing a common framework and data pipeline across use cases, from pilot to thousands of RAN sites 
• Evolving AI models over time, starting with general-purpose LLMs and shifting to purpose-built models with Amazon SageMaker  
• Operationalizing AI agents using Amazon Bedrock AgentCore for seamless scalability, observability, security, and operations 

Amir Rao, Global GTM and Solutions Director, AWS for Telecom, AWS
Girish Mahajan, Senior Leader AI and Data, Mobile Networks, BT Group

16:30 - 16:45
Case study: Leading autonomous network adoption in LatAm 

• Key factors driving AI and automation adoption in the region, and what are the risks and impacts of failing to adopt them 
• Identifying the critical elements that must be addressed to ensure a realistic, successful, and sustainable AIOps implementation 
• How industry best practices and frameworks, such as those from TM Forum, help streamline and strengthen the adoption process 

16:45 – 17:15  
Panel: From capability to competitive advantage: Are autonomous networks delivering real business value? 

• Where are CSPs seeing measurable impact beyond operational efficiency? 
• What still prevents autonomy from scaling across the entire organization? 
• How do operators balance speed, control, and risk in AI-driven environments? 
• What will define success in the next phase of AN Level 4 adoption? 

Panelists:
Rudolf Strijkers, Lead Architect Network & Infrastructure IT, Swisscom  
Sana Khan, Director Digital Transformation Strategy, Telenor  
Pramath Jha, Principal Consultant, CTO Office, CMI Business Group, TCS 
Ibrahim Eldeftar, Global Head of Solution Line Cognitive Software and Services, Ericsson 

17:15 
Closing remarks

All timings are provisional and may be subject to change.